Newsletter for Alumni, Parents, Parishioners and Friends of St. Anthony Catholic School in Washington, D.C.

Vol. XVIII Number 4 WINTER 2017

2017-2018 Theme: “The Lord has loved me so much: we must love everyone and be compassionate!” -St. Josephine Bakhita

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ANNIVERSARY MASSSt. Anthony past and present parishioners, alumni, and friends gathered at The Catholic University of America on November 4th for the parish’s 125th Dinner Dance.

Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, a St. Anthony parishioner, presents a

Proclamation from the city honoring the parish.

Dr. Herb and Kathy Wood, longtime parishioners and alumni parents.

Marla-jo Bonuccelli G.S. ‘67, with her brothers Ralph Bonuccelli G.S. ’68, and

Hugo Bonuccelli G.S. ’66.

Malaku and Lavernis Steen, longtime parishioners and alumni parents, with their

daughter.

The Cole family.

The anniversary cake celebrated Fr. Fred’s 70th and Col. B. Alvin Drew’s

55th birthdays...equaling 125!

An impressive number of alumni were represented from the 1950s to the early 2000s. The cake celebrated Fr. Fred’s 70th and Col. Drew’s 55th... equaling 125!

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others. Stability and consistency are the context for success, and our school deserves equality in sacrifice from its sons and daughters. To build on our success we must do more for our parents, teachers, and staff. Our parents need stable tuition, our teachers and staff need a living wage, and many students need scholarships. A critical need is housing within the neighborhood for our teachers. Our ancient buildings need love. Please share your gifts!

Let me close with the attitude toward the future that St. Anthony’s has always imparted to its students. May we always remain children full of hope, people who say with Pope John Paul II: “The future for us remains an unknown quantity, which we now accept without anxiety. Love has overcome anxiety. The future depends on love.”

A Blessed and Merry Christmas, and a joyous New Year, to you all!

Grace and Peace,

Fr. Fred

Pastor

Dear Alumni and Friends,

As we enter Advent, and prepare again for Christmas, three Feasts in rapid succession light the way. On December 6, the Feast of Saint Nicholas, on December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Patroness of the United States, and on December 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of all the Americas. We “are transformed from one degree of glory to the next” as we prepare to celebrate the birthday of Jesus, the reason for the season. The Feasts have much to teach us, but in this season of gifts given and received, I want to focus on Jesus, source of all gifts.

Jesus Christ is the reason for St. Anthony Catholic School, the unseen Teacher in all her classrooms, the inspiration of her Principal, Teachers, Administration and Staff. The school exists so that the next generation of children will know and love “the most real things,” things visible and invisible. It exists so that by the gift of faith in Jesus and by training in the good, the true and the beautiful, her students can be lifted up to the hope of heaven, and equipped to help others have this same experience. It exists, in a word, that we might all become like children, able to say “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus,” and become, like St. Nicholas, Saints in their turn.

We become Saints by asking with Mary at the Annunciation, “How can this be?” and hearing the Angel respond: “the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most high overshadow you.” This is our Baptismal identity. This is the adventure of life! At St. Anthony’s the mainstay of our education is based on our baptismal identity, and for our Catholic students, preparation for the other sacraments of initiation.

We become Saints like Saint Nicholas by investing our gifts in the lives of

From The Pastor’s Desk

The school prayed 70 rosaries, packaged 70 bags of treats for the needy, and gave a $70 gift card to Dunkin Donuts to celebrate Fr. Fred Close’s birthday. Mr. Francis Washington G.S. ‘71, art teacher, painted a collage for Fr. Fred’s school celebration.

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Directors. These founders, along with Barbara BetsockG.S. ‘64 and the new board members, Jake Abbott, Ed Andercheck, Yvonne Ivey,’05, Neslyn Moore, and Gary Reyes,are also fine examples of the “love and generosity and devotion” that editor Francis Church used in his response to young and innocent Virginia O’Hanlon.

The list of those that give St. Anthony “its highest beauty and joy” is a long one. It includes the faculty and staff, our hardworking parents, our Christ Child tutors, Catholic University’s DC Reads tutors, the Virginia Merrick Guild, the Knights of Columbus, Sodality, and so many individual alumni and parishioners who give generously of their time, talent, and treasure.

Life at St. Anthony is never dull. Hoops for Hope, our Hispanic Heritage celebration, Fr. Fred’s birthday, “Trunk or Treat, the Bow-Tie Brunch, Grandparents Morning, our Thanksgiving Canned Food Drive, our Donor Appreciation Reception, and of course the 125th Anniversary festivities were all superbly successful and thoroughly enjoyable events. Before the year ends, we will host Breakfast with Santa (December 16), two Christmas Concerts (December 20 & 21) and a host of classroom field trips. Great activities and events are worth celebrating! Thank you to all made these events so memorable.

Your “love and generosity and devotion” mean so much to me and to the St. Anthony Catholic School community. Thank you for your faithful prayers and generous financial contributions. Your support makes our work possible.I wish all of you the happiest Christmas Season and good health and prosperity in the New Year! Peace and blessings to you and your family.

Yours in Christ,

Michael ThomasianPrincipal

Dear Alumni, Parishioners, and Friends:

“Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?” asks 8 year old Virginia O’Hanlon in her 1897 letter to the editor of The New York Sun. The editor’s response is brilliant and timeless, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus.”

There are many individuals and groups in our community that fit this description of Santa Claus quite well. Earlier this month, we recognized Ms. Mary Sklencar, a supportive and generous parishioner, as well as Mr. Frank WashingtonG.S. ’71, a longtime St. Anthony art teacher, with our 2017 Servant Leader Award.

Elsie Weistling, Bob Wassmann, and Artie Washington, all members of the class of GS’64 and HS’68, founded and administered the St. Anthony Legacy Foundation and just last month passed on the leadership of the foundation to a new Board of

From the Principal’s Desk

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IN MEMORIAMBernita Bland Smith H.S. ‘73

Cyndia J. Busler, former Chemistry teacher, St. Anthony High School

Mary Ellen Glynn Kenkel H.S. ‘48

Joseph A. Hossick H.S. ‘42

Elizabeth Matthews Altman H.S. ’48, wife of Paul P. Altman H.S ‘47

Please pray for the souls of the faithfully departed.

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Correction

JUSTIN FAIRFAX ’92 ELECTED LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA

On November 7, Justin E. Fairfax G.S. ’92 learned he would have a new job.

Elected the new Lieutenant Governor of Virginia that day, the Democrat had entered politics only five years before to run against Mark Herring for the Democratic nomination to be Virginia Attorney General. He came within 3 percentage points of defeating Herring.

Fairfax, an attorney at Venable LLP, became the second African-American elected to state-wide office in Virginia after Reconstruction. Douglas Wilder was elected governor of Virginia in 1989.

Fairfax grew up off North Capitol Street in Washington, D.C, not far from his family’s parish, St. Martin’s. His mother, Charlene Fairfax, attended the parish school, which closed during Fairfax’s youth and moved back to her grandparent’s house after divorcing Fairfax’s father. Lacking the option of attending St. Martin School, Fairfax attended St. Anthony Catholic School in Brookland.

One instructor who left a deep impression on him was the late Ms. Lorraine E. Ferris, middle school English teacher. So dedicated to sentence structure and grammar was Ms. Ferris that she would have her students memorize all 45 prepositions. Ms. Ferris held high standards for all of her students and through her decades at St. Anthony, she became a revered figure by students, alumni, and parents.

While the crack epidemic was raging in Washington, D.C., leading to all-time annual murder totals and the mass incarceration of African-American men, Fairfax was benefitting from the instruction of veteran teachers such as Mr. Wayne Straight, Math teacher, and Mr. John Devereaux, Social Studies teacher. It was a time when there more black men from the District of Columbia incarcerated than attending college.

Fairfax later attended high school at DeMatha, received his bachelor’s degree at Duke University, and his law degree at Columbia University. He served as young alumni representative on the Duke Board following his 2000 graduation.

Since graduating from law school, Fairfax has served as a federal judge’s clerk, as an attorney at Wilmer Hale, representing white collar criminals, and as a federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia. According to published reports, Fairfax plans to promote a progressive Democrat agenda in Richmond, including cutting

student loan interest rates, expanding Medicaid medical coverage to less fortunate Virginians, and filling as many as 170,000 open “middle skill” jobs in a state with a 3.7 percent unemployment rate.

Fairfax joins a proud tradition of St. Anthony alumni in public service positions, including Kenyon R. McDuffie G.S. ‘89 (D.), the Ward 5 council member in Washington, D.C., S. Frank Shore, H.S. ’55, a Democrat and Maryland State Senator from 1978-1990 who served the previous seven years in the House of Delegates, and the lateJohn F. “Jack” Herrity H.S. ’51, a Republican and former chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors from 1976 to 1988.

In the Fall 2017 issue of the Blue & Gold, it was Mary Ann Fitzpatrick Barnes G.S. ’54/H.S. ’58 who was standing with Mr. Michael Thomasian in a photo. We apologize for the mistake with her married name.

Justin Fairfax G.S. ’92 with his wife and two young children.

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ALUMNI NOTES • ALUMNI NOTES • ALUMNI NOTES • ALUMNI NOTES

The Class of 1956 from St. Anthony High School celebrated its 60th anniversary last year with a reunion at Joe Widmayer’s home in Annapolis, Md., according to Joseph Romeo H.S. ’56.

J. Frederic Simms H.S. ’56 reports that had just retired from Walter Reed National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., after 15 years working there. He volunteers for We Are Family, D.C., a senior outreach program in Washington, D.C., and PeaceMeals, which fosters small group dinners to encourage healthy eating, interactive cooking, and social interaction.

Millie Hurlbut G.S. ‘60/H.S. ‘64 retired from the Association of the US Army two years ago, where her job was to support soldiers and their families. Interested in continuing to do so, she began volunteering at Fort Meade, Md. She threw Christmas parties for military dependents, gave grocery gift cards to the chaplain to give out to soldiers and families in need, made food baskets to give out during the holidays, and visited soldiers at Walter Reed. “Just a simple, ‘Thank you for your service,’ means a lot to them,” she said. “I have been privileged to have met so many proud men and women who ask for nothing but gave us so much..

Cheryl Alston G.S. ‘62/H.S. ’66 – writes, “Thanks to the education I received at Saint Anthony’s School, I received my

Doctorate in Math Sciences and am in the process of publishing a book of life and poetry. I credit my success to Sister Aedan and Sister Elizabeth!”

Frank Kelly H.S. ’69 – who writes under the pen name of Frank Lingo, recently published Earth Vote, a paperback and ebook that one can purchase through Amazon and other book sellers. It is a science fiction work about everyone on the earth being able to vote for peace. Congratulations, Frank!

B. Alvin Drew G.S. ’76 gathered on Oct. 14, a Saturday afternoon, on a balcony overlooking Gonzaga College High School’s football stadium with Dr. Jeff Grant G.S. ’79 and Dr. Kathryn Barrett-Gaines G.S. ’79, two educators. Byron Harper G.S. ’81, director of alumni relations at Gonzaga, organized the

gathering to dedicate the Gabe Smith entrance to Buchanan Field during the Gonzaga-Carroll game. John Gabriel Smith was the first African-American student at the Jesuit school and graduated in 1954. Black alumni of Gonzaga are memorializing him through fundraising efforts. “We spent time talking about our memories of our teachers Sister Ursula Butler (O.S.B.), Sister Dorothy Huggard (O.S.B.), Mrs. Laurie Keller, Mr. John Devereaux, Mr. Wayne Straight, (and) Ms.. Lorraine Ferris,” Kathryn said. “We thank our great teachers for launching us!” she said.

Alumni! If you have news to share, please contact Bill Murray at billm@developassociates.com or 240-428-5427.

Dr. Jeff Grant (left), with Dr.Kathryn Barrett Gaines G.S. ’79 and Col. B. Alvin Drew G.S. ’76.

First year teacher Mr. Blair Matthews, who teaches Middle School Science, organized boys and girls soccer teams this fall. Watch out, CYO!

Mr. Blair Matthews is as comfortable in the science lab as he is on the soccer field!

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CARDINAL WUERL,SPEAKER RYAN VISIT

MERRY CHRISTMAS

In early October, Donald Cardinal Wuerl of Washington visited St. Anthony with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R.-Wisc.) in preparation for the annual Ryan-Feinstein-Williams Dinner to benefit the Monumental Scholars Fund, which benefits six schools, including St. Anthony. Speaker Ryan, an active Catholic, has the championed the Opportunity Scholarship Program, which funds U.S. Education Department vouchers to allow low income families from failing schools in the District to send their children to schools such as St. Anthony.

On Nov. 2, we celebrated All Souls Day also known as Dia de Los Muertos, remembering our loved ones

who have passed.Hispanic Heritage month

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CATHOLIC BUSINESS NETWORK DC GALA

ALL SAINTS DAYWe celebrated All Saints Day on Nov. 1 by dressing up as our favorite saint after

learning about his or her life and having a parade of saints.

At the CBN-DC Gala, Ms. Marguerite Conley, executive director of the Consortium of Catholic Academies, gathers with Justin Silvers, president of

CBN-DC, and Fr. Fred Close, pastor of St. Anthony.

At the CBN-DC Fourth Annual Gala, Fr. John Mudd, honored as Clergy of the Year, with Fr. Fred Close and Michael Thomasian of St. Anthony.

At the Fourth Annual Catholic Business Network DC (CBN-DC) Gala on Oct. 5, (left to right) Michael Thomasian of St. Anthony gathers with John

D. Magnolia of Magnolia Plumbing and Joe Borger of Borger Management and Fr. Fred Close. Mr. Magnolia as named Catholic Business Person of the Year by CBN-DC, while Mr. Borger is a CBN-DC board member who

won the award previously.

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St. Anthony Catholic SchoolSt. Anthony of Padua Catholic ChurchOffice of Development/Alumni Relations3400 12th Street, N.E.Washington, DC 20017-1793

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Non Profit OrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No. 9862

Washington, D.C.

SAINT ANTHONY CATHOLIC SCHOOL BLUE & GOLD | VOLUME 18, NUMBER 4 | WINTER 2017

www.stanthonyschooldc.org

Rev. Frederick Close, pastorpadrefred@earthlink.net202-250-8208

Mr. Michael Thomasian, principalmichael.thomasian@catholicacademies.org202-526-4657

If you have any story ideas for the Blue & Gold or would like to update your address with us, please contact Bill Murray at the email address or phone number above. Thank you for staying in touch!

Mission StatementThe mission of St. Anthony

Catholic School is to prepare its students for lives of leadership

and service rooted in an encounter with Jesus Christ.

Bill Murray, Blue & Gold editorbillm@developassociates.com240-418-5427

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